5 ms·

That's not really accurate. For most people, they deal with financial institutions directly via the fiat onroads and offroads fror the exchanges. The fact that

That's not really accurate. For most people, they deal with financial institutions directly via the fiat onroads and offroads fror the exchanges. The fact that you can formally buy, exchange, and cash out of crypto with full banking support gives cryptocoins a veneer of Government support and legitimacy. The USA bans online gambling and ponzi schemes. Cyrptocoins are worse, because they include a side order of immense waste of electricity and advanced manufactured computer chips, and enable ransomware. I think this article is completely correct. We, as members of the tech community, have a duty to communicate with the public and democratic representatives that cryptocurrencies are a harmful technology, and the formal exchange of them for fiat should be banned.

codehalo 5y ago
Can you (and your representative) please just leave me alone so I can harm myself with this "harmful technology"? Whatever the outcome, I'll take my chances. Please leave me alone.
- friedman23 5y ago
  These people really can't help themselves.
- ArkanExplorer 5y ago
  The harm is not limited to you. Electricity shortages: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/26/iran-bans-bitcoin-mining-as-its-cities-suffer-blackouts.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/26/iran-bans-bitcoin-mining-as-... Chip shortages: https://www.fxempire.com/forecasts/article/bitcoin-mining-adds-to-existing-shortage-in-semiconductor-market-chip-prices-surge-712458 https://www.fxempire.com/forecasts/article/bitcoin-mining-ad... Ransomware: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bitcoin-extortion-how-cryptocurrency-has-enabled-a-massive-surge-in-ransomware-attacks-11621022496 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bitcoin-extortion-how-cryp... In terms of overall negative impacts, crypto is worse than ponzi schemes and online gambling.
  - codehalo 5y ago
    Yeah, all the problems of the world are due to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Embarrassingly, more than a decade in, HN is still struggling with it. I don't consider harmful, I consider it a godsend. Ten years ago, I knew HN was wrong, it will still be wrong in a decade.
- MrRadar 5y ago
  The environmental harms of cryptocurrencies hurt everyone. It's a classic externality.
  - codehalo 5y ago
    Even worse than coal mining and ICE vehicles right? I don't see all this righteousness for those.
    - MrRadar 5y ago
      I want to see those things go away too, but we're going to need to significantly increase the energy efficiency of our entire society to be able to achieve that. Cryptocurrency mining is anti-efficient, by design. How much coal generation could we retire just by eliminating the energy demand from cryptocurrency mining? I suspect the answer to that question is more than zero.
  - logicchains 5y ago
    > The environmental harms of cryptocurrencies hurt everyone. It's a classic externality. A rational solution would be a carbon tax, so pollution is no longer an externality. Focusing only on Bitcoin only makes sense if one's agenda is just to hurt Bitcoin.
friedman23 5y ago
> The USA bans online gambling Does that make it right? Ignoring that, many private institutions go out of their way to ban transactions in things that the government doesn't even ban. Marijuana in states where it is legalized for example. All forms of sex work on the misguided belief that it somehow benefits the sex worker. Etc. Also I don't have a duty to follow your misguided morals.

codehalo 5y ago

Can you (and your representative) please just leave me alone so I can harm myself with this "harmful technology"? Whatever the outcome, I'll take my chances. Please leave me alone.

friedman23 5y ago
These people really can't help themselves.
ArkanExplorer 5y ago
The harm is not limited to you. Electricity shortages: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/26/iran-bans-bitcoin-mining-as-its-cities-suffer-blackouts.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/26/iran-bans-bitcoin-mining-as-... Chip shortages: https://www.fxempire.com/forecasts/article/bitcoin-mining-adds-to-existing-shortage-in-semiconductor-market-chip-prices-surge-712458 https://www.fxempire.com/forecasts/article/bitcoin-mining-ad... Ransomware: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bitcoin-extortion-how-cryptocurrency-has-enabled-a-massive-surge-in-ransomware-attacks-11621022496 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bitcoin-extortion-how-cryp... In terms of overall negative impacts, crypto is worse than ponzi schemes and online gambling.
- codehalo 5y ago
  Yeah, all the problems of the world are due to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Embarrassingly, more than a decade in, HN is still struggling with it. I don't consider harmful, I consider it a godsend. Ten years ago, I knew HN was wrong, it will still be wrong in a decade.
MrRadar 5y ago
The environmental harms of cryptocurrencies hurt everyone. It's a classic externality.
- codehalo 5y ago
  Even worse than coal mining and ICE vehicles right? I don't see all this righteousness for those.
  - MrRadar 5y ago
    I want to see those things go away too, but we're going to need to significantly increase the energy efficiency of our entire society to be able to achieve that. Cryptocurrency mining is anti-efficient, by design. How much coal generation could we retire just by eliminating the energy demand from cryptocurrency mining? I suspect the answer to that question is more than zero.
- logicchains 5y ago
  > The environmental harms of cryptocurrencies hurt everyone. It's a classic externality. A rational solution would be a carbon tax, so pollution is no longer an externality. Focusing only on Bitcoin only makes sense if one's agenda is just to hurt Bitcoin.

friedman23 5y ago

> The USA bans online gambling Does that make it right? Ignoring that, many private institutions go out of their way to ban transactions in things that the government doesn't even ban. Marijuana in states where it is legalized for example. All forms of sex work on the misguided belief that it somehow benefits the sex worker. Etc. Also I don't have a duty to follow your misguided morals.